Walking Through These Barren Wastes
by Sandrock62
Summary: IMPORTANT UPDATE: I have discontinued this series due to it becoming something other than what I wanted it to be. I'm terribly sorry to the people who were following this story. A young boy is exiled from Vault 62 after he murders a Vault Official who was trying to rape him. Forced to wander the desolate Wastes of DC, can he manage to survive and maybe, find something more?
1. Chapter 1

**Walking Through These Barren Wastes**

**Chapter 1**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fallout or any of the companies that are responsible for it's creation. I'd like to thank the good people at Bethesda Studios for making such an iconic and wonderful game.

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><p>Lucas's hands tightened on the gun and he pulled the trigger, firing the weapon and changing everything. The Council member had a shocked look on his face, why shouldn't he? A sixteen-year old boy had just shot him with a .44 caliber Magnum, leaving a ragged and bloody hole in his chest. The fat and aging man stumbled backwards and slumped against the wall, leaving a trail of blood on the wall. Jon's breath came out in ragged grasps as tears welled up in his eyes and he saw what he'd done, really SAW it. He'd been so scared, so vulnerable, and the Council member had said some things that he hoped to never hear again. Now, he never would.<p>

It took Vault security two minutes and thirty-four seconds to reach the room and override the locked door, which the Councilman had locked for his "convenience and privacy". Upon entering the room and seeing both the boy and the bloody corpse, they wasted no time in securing the young male and hauling him off to the Vault jail. It took the Council members two days, two agonizing days of questioning and measly meals, for them to come up with a decision for what to do with him…

"Lucas Fields, you are hereby sentenced to EXILE from Vault 92 for the rest of your life. Any attempt to re-enter the Vault will be met with lethal force. Do you understand?" The young man took the longest time to answer the "court", if you could call it that. The Council members had splashed this trial together to show that they were "fair and just". It was a sham, all a sham. Lucas could see it in their eyes, each one of these bastards was as sick as the Council member he'd killed. Jon was happy to leave this place behind, even if it meant he'd have to brave the Wasteland….

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><p>Two years later:<p>

A lone figure, wrapped in a cloak, walked into the town of Megaton, newcomers to the town or people just passing through had their hands on their weapons, leery of this outsider, little did they know that he was more apart of the town than they were. But they quickly learned, as the townsfolk who knew who he was quickly informed the others who the cloaked figure was. A few children ran up to the man, tugging at his cloak and asking him about his travels. With a weary gesture, the man pulled down his hood and revealed the face of an older, more mature Lucas. He smiled down at the children "I'll tell you a new story when I tuck you guys in tonight, but first, I need to talk to the Sheriff." He pointed at a young African boy "Harden, you happen to know where your dad's at?"

The boy thought for a moment before shaking his head up and down "Yeah, daddy's over at Mr. Moriarty's house, he's on patrol right now." Lucas thanked the youth and walked towards Moriarty's Saloon. Lucas didn't enjoy the company of the bar owner, or Nova, the resident prostitute, but there wasn't anything he could do about it, and hell, everyone had to make a living somehow in these wastes.

Lucas entered the bar and immediately caught sight of the town's sheriff, Lucas Simms, chatting with Moriarty. Lucas stood off to the side, not wanting to be rude and interrupt their conversation, the information he had could wait, and in the meantime, Lucas busied himself with looking over the other inhabitants of the bar. There was Nova, as usual, selling out her "services" to anyone willing to pay for them. Gob was at the bar, washing a few used glass mugs between serving customers. Besides them, there were a few familiar faces from around town, just people who happened to live in the same town as him. The only new person in the bar was the strange man in a white tuxedo sitting off to the side, who, oddly enough, was waving for Lucas to join him. Lucas walked over to the room the man was sitting in and took a seat across from the stranger. "You seem like the sort who, gets around," said the man in an almost complementary manner "Would you think of doing a job for me?" Lucas looked the man over, although he was impeccably dressed, something wasn't quite right with him. Lucas nodded his head for the man to continue, he wanted to know what this job was. "Well, I have a small piece of the bomb sitting in the middle of this… mud hole. If you would be so kind as to implant the piece into the bomb and meet me at Tennpenny tower when you're done, I'll make sure you are WELL rewarded." Lucas thought about what the man was asking him, was this idiot really asking him to, to blow up Megaton? Lucas stood and looked the gentleman in the eyes "I would never dream of destroying this beautiful town or harming the inhabitants. You will turn yourself in immediately to the town sheriff or I will." The man seemed to smirk as he stood; he was just barely taller than Lucas, but he was definitely a lot leaner. The man reached for something in his coat, and as Lucas grabbed the man's arm and yanked it out, he caught sight of a pistol with a long silencer, and then the shooting started.

The man's first shot only grazed his leg, but the second one found purchase in his calf. Lucas dropped to the ground, bringing up a long black magnum, and fired into the man's sternum as the rest of the bar fell into chaos. People were shoving their way out the door and Sheriff Simms looked with wide eyed amazement at the man in the suit, who was trying to get a better shot at Lucas, despite the bleeding hole in his gut. Lucas rolled to the side and got behind a table that had been turned over in the confusion as two more rounds hit the ground where his head had been a few seconds earlier. Simms came to his senses and leveled his Chinese Assault rifle at the man in white "You have two seconds to drop that weapon before I drop you." The man just smiled some more and started to raise his pistol. The Sheriff didn't hesitate; he simply squeezed the trigger and peppered the man in a hail of gunfire. The impact tossed the man back and he slammed back down into the very chair he'd been sitting before, only this time he wouldn't be standing up.

Lucas tried to stand up from behind the table, but collapsed as the pain from his wounded calf brought him to his knees. Simms ran over to him and slowly helped Lucas to his feet "Now, what the hell was that all about?" Lucas just shook his head, a chuckle escaping his lips "The crazy bastard, tried to hire me to blow up the city, said he had a component and everything." Simms looked at Lucas in abject horror, the thought that someone wanted to blow Megaton up was, well, unthinkable. Moriarty charged into the bar, anger apparent on his face. "What the hell have you done to my bar?" He roared, indicating the shot up floor and wall. "Who the hell do you think you are that you can just waltz in here and start a blood bath? You're going to pay for this you little piece of shit! I swear." The Sheriff glared at the bar owner and replied in a steely tone "Before you start yelling at this boy here, you should make sure that the people coming in and out of your bar aren't fucking psychopaths bent on blowing the city up! Did you even bother asking this clown what he was doing in Megaton? Well, did you?" Moriarty was too stunned for words, which was pretty rare, and Lucas just smiled, but the smile quickly faded as another wave of pain washed over him and his head started getting dizzy. He could barely stand and the room started to spin, putting him even more off balance. Before he knew what was happening, he'd slipped out of Sheriff Simms arms and had felt his body collide with the floor. He didn't feel the pain that should be there, in fact, all of the pain had faded, and the room was starting to fade. _Shit_ thought Lucas, his consciousness almost gone, _What a shitty way to die._

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><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong> SHIT, did I really kill off my OC in the first chapter? Oops. I guess you guys are wondering where the hell I'm going to go from here huh? Well you'll just have to wait and see...


	2. Chapter 2

**Walking Through These Barren Wastes**

**Chapter 2**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fallout or any of the companies that are responsible for it's creation. I'd like to thank the good people at Bethesda Studios for making such an iconic and wonderful game.

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><p>His eyes slowly opened, the harsh overhead lights searing his vision. He could barely feel anything, and he couldn't seem to move either, but he was alive, which is much more than Lucas expected. An older man with dark skin and wrinkles lining his face leaned over the table Lucas was laying on "Well, good to see you made it through alive. Now get up and get the hell out of my clinic, I have more patients to see." Despite his rude demeanor, the man took care in undoing Lucas's straps and helping him stand, which took a little work since his legs felt like blended jell-o. "Woh there, you need to take it easy. You've been out for three days, so you're going to feel a little weak." Lucas couldn't help but smile "I almost collapse on the floor and THEN you tell me I might feel a "little" weak. Your sense of humor must earn you a lot of friends." An un-amused frown passed over then man's face and he let go of Lucas, who collapsed under his weakened legs and hit the ground with a THUD. Despite knowing each other for quite awhile, Doc couldn't take a joke sometimes. <em>Oops, probably shouldn't piss off the guy who saved my life.<em>

The smooth voice of a young woman cut through the stale air of the clinic "Doc! Don't throw the patient around! You don't want to re-open his wound do you?" A woman, in her mid-twenties by the look of her, stepped through the doorway and shook her finger accusingly at the older man, who became suddenly ashamed and shy at the same time "I'm sorry Ms. Brown, I got a little bit angry at the boy." The woman just smiled and looked down at Lucas, a sorry but stern expression on her face, and suddenly Lucas felt sorry for even being alive. "And you! You should be thanking Doc Church here for saving your life!" She turned her accusing finger on him and Lucas felt even worse "I'm sorry miss, it won't happen again." Ms. Brown just smiled and helped Lucas to his feet "Good, now let's get you some food and rest. You still need to heal from that wound you took." Lucas almost cried as he took a step with his wounded leg and pain shot up his leg. Doc must have seen his expression, because he quietly handed Lucas a small bottle of pills labeled PAINKILLER on the side. Lucas gave the old man a grateful smile and downed two of the little pills with some water. "Thanks Doc, sorry about making that comment, I'm really grateful you were able to save me."

The man just smiled and clapped Lucas on the shoulder, "It's okay son, plenty of people fuck up. Just make sure you go easy on those pills, I don't want to have to treat you for overdosing!" The man let loose a throaty laugh and walked into the next room, emerging a moment later with a pair of crutches. "Your leg sustained only minor damage, you should be good as new within a few days. In the meantime, Moriarty has offered you a room in his place until your leg improves, free of charge of course." Lucas' face adopted a sour look as he took the crutches and stood on his own two feet (And two crutches) "As much as I appreciate," he nearly spat the bar owner's name "Moriarty's "offer", I'd rather sleep in a pit of Mole Rats. Is there anywhere else I could sleep?' The Doc shook his head, "I understand your dislike for the man, but unless someone else in town let's you shack up with them, you're out of luck." Before Lucas could muster up his 'Puppy dog eye look, the old man followed up with another statement "And all of my beds are taken right now, so you can count me out." Lucas' shoulder's slumped a little and the thought of having to *shudder* put up with Moriarty's obnoxiousness for the next week seemed to make dying not sound so bad. "Um, I have some spare room in my house." said a meek voice behind Lucas, who turned around and looked at Ms. Brown, who was blushing slightly from her statement. Lucas whipped out the puppy dog eyes in full force, ready to get down on his knees (even the wounded one) and BEG for this angel in disguise to take him into her home. Ms. Brown laughed and patted Lucas on the head "You don't have to beg, it's perfectly fine with me, it'll be nice to have some company over for a change instead of customers." The blush seemed to get a little redder, as if Ms. Brown had something dirty on her mind, and suddenly Lucas felt dirty for watching, so a blush spread across HIS face. Doc stepped up to Lucas and patted him on the shoulder, breaking Ms. Brown's spell on him "Where are my manners, I should be introducing you two! Son, this is Ms Moira Brown, the proud owner of the Craterside Supply. She got here a few weeks ago and almost everyone in the town loves her already. And Ms. Brown, this is Lucas, he's, well, he's just Lucas. He does odd jobs and other things for the town." Doc seemed lost for words, which was understandable, very few people in town actually knew what Lucas did, just that whatever he did helped the town stay a little safer.

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><p>Lucas had arrived at Megaton about a year after leaving Vault 62, in that year, he'd learned how to do more things than all his years in the Vault combined. He'd learned first aid, how to hunt, how to shoot, how to stay alive. He learned all of this from a group of escaped slaves, who'd lovingly taken him in and shown him everything. Sadly, his life with the former slaves was short lived, as the entire group was attacked one night. Rather than let him fight along side them, the leader of the slaves had hidden Lucas and told him to escape, he'd argued with the man, but the leader didn't let him have a say, he simply pointed his gun at Lucas with tears in his eyes and told him to run. And so Lucas had run to the nearest outcropping and watched as the people that had practically raised him for months died before his very eyes. The slavers were merciless, slaughtering woman and children and butchering the men. The few they let live were quickly collared and rounded up. They let the leader live, and as the re-captured slaves were led away, he looked over his shoulder, directly at Lucas, and mouthed the words "I'm sorry, goodbye."<p>

He and the other slaves then made a mad dash away from the slavers, who simply let them run to the edge of the safe zone and detonate their collars. Every. Last. One of his friends had died that night, and part of Lucas died with them.

He followed the slavers for days before he made his move, in the cover of night, he slipped into their camp and slit each slavers throat as they slept. Only one person lived, a lowly grunt that Lucas tied to a chair and made him watch as Lucas slowly tortured the leader of the slaver group to death. He made a tiny cut for every friend that the slavers had killed, then he did it again, and again, and again, repeating the process until the leader stopped screaming and wouldn't wake up anymore. He sent the grunt on his way with a message, if Lucas ever found out that the kid was working with the slavers, he do to the kid what he did to the leader. The kid had fled with tears of fear in his eyes and disappeared into the night.

Lucas wandered the Wastes for days after that, not eating, not sleeping, just wandering and steering clear of anything living for as long as he could. Finally, nature won against him and he stumbled to the gates of Megaton on dark night, his features slack with hunger and his mind dull with exhaustion. For weeks, the inhabitants eyed him with suspicion and untrustworthiness, but that all changed when Boppo's gang of raiders had attacked the town. Jon had jumped into the fray alongside the townspeople in their fight to defend their home and even led the counter-attack against the gang of raiders, fighting alongside the townspeople and even saving a few of their lives, and that had been the turning point for him. He'd gone from being "that shady guy" to "Lucas". Everyone in town greeted him with a smile, and Lucas had felt at home for the first time since his time with the escaped slaves. Even though he didn't actually live in Megaton (He made his home in an old house in the nearby ruins.), the inhabitants treated him like he was one of them.

Then Boppo and his gang returned, this time they wanted revenge, they found Lucas's home and burnt it to the ground, along with a large stash of weapons and supplies, and Boppo had personally challenged Lucas to a fight. Lucas had answered the call, and the fight was a hard one for Lucas, but he managed to come out on top and kill Boppo. The gang had retreated, but Lucas knew it was only a matter of time before the gang returned to look for him, so he decide to strike out on his own and help Megaton from the outside, filtering through information, escorting trader caravans, and eliminating threats to the city. His trips to Megaton became few and far between for that last year, and each new visit showed that the town was growing and growing. New stores popped up every few months and the amount of people who actually knew who Lucas was grew smaller and smaller. Of course, the people who knew him spread stories about his adventures and he became the stuff of legends to the children. Sheriff Simms would hire Lucas to do things around town and out in the Wastes from time to time, but generally left Lucas to his own devices.

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><p>Lucas loped up the incline to Ms. Brown's home, Ms. Brown walking beside him, but her attention wasn't really on him or anything else in particular she seemed pretty pre-occupied with her own thoughts. As they reached the door to her storehome, she pulled out a ring of keys and unlocked the door, holding it open for him so that he could get through. "Thank you again for letting me stay in your home, I have a strong… distaste for the way Moriarty does business. Where will I be sleeping Ms. Brown?" A light blush spread across Ms. Brown's face "Please, call me Moira; Doc Church is the only one who calls me Ms. Brown. And as for where you'll be sleeping…." Her blush turned a few deeper shades of red as she stammered with her answer "Um, I only have one bed…. B-but we can share it, it's pretty spacious!" The girl fiddled with her coveralls, as if Lucas's very presence set her on edge. Lucas looked the woman over, her hair was a dark red, and stretched about halfway down here back. She had a light skin color, but it was smudged with motor oil and dirt. Her dark green eyes never seemed to settle on one place for long, as if she was always looking for something to distract her or keep her busy. Her body was, well it was gorgeous, Lucas had to resist the urge to mentally strip the woman who was allowing her into her home and… well, her bed. Lucas looked himself over in the mirror, he didn't look half bad with his short and unruly black hair, which seemed to greatly contrast with his bright skin color, though he too was stained with dirt and grime from his long travels. His body was lean and toned from living off the land and working to stay alive out in the Wastes. The feature that startled people the most was his eyes though, they were a piercing yellow and seemed to look through whatever he was looking at. He had no idea how he came to be born with his strange eye color, he just chalked it up to one of those things that happened in the Wastes, like ghoulification and mutations. His settled his eyes on Moira once again, who had turned from Lucas and was fiddling with a small device at a nearby workstation. "Um, where can I take a quick bath? I don't want to crawl into your bed smelling like something that died out in the Wastes." Moira, engrossed in the task at hand, completely ignored Lucas, who, though irked, crushed his frustration with the fact that he was still a guest in this woman's home. He walked up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder, which rewarded him with a shrill squeak and short jump. She turned around and looked Lucas in the eyes for about half a second before another blush spread across her face, this woman was obviously not used to being around people… "Um, what did you need?" Lucas just sighed "I asked you where your bath was; I need to clean up before I pass out." Moira thought for a moment, as if she wasn't quite sure of the layout of her home. "It's um, it's behind the staircase, through that door." She pointed at a door to Lucas's right. He nodded and hobbled back there, the pills already working their magic and making him very tired.

Lucas managed to wash his body with a combination of cold water and Abraxo Cleaner. As he stepped out of the make shift shower, he saw a pair of panties hanging on the towel rack, which brought a sudden realization down on him, he was going to be sleeping in the same bed with this woman for a little over a week. It had struck him as weird already, but now it truly dawned on him what he was doing. Now all of the blushes Moira had been making made perfect sense. Sighing, Lucas dried his body off with a towel and clothed himself in a set of "clean" clothes from his pack. Calling anything clean in the Wastes was like calling a Brahmin steak "healthy", it was only true to a certain extent. He limped out of the bathroom and up the stairs, using the hand rail and the walls for support. The pills were making it harder and harder to stay awake, and Lucas only barely made it to the king-sized bed before his legs gave out from under him. He managed to crawl under the covers and situate himself on one side of the bed before the sweet hand of unconsciousness claimed him once again.

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><p>Lucas was stirred from his sleep as another body entered the bed and slid up to his back. At first, the person seemed afraid to touch him, as if his back would suddenly open up and bite at the soft hands that touched him. Slowly, the person inched closer to Lucas and settled snuggly against his body, matching their body shape to his own. A soft, feminine sigh emanated from the bed invader and Lucas slowly realized that it was Moira, but his drug addled mind had trouble connecting anything more than that, all he wanted was to sleep, and it took only seconds for him to drift back off into dreamland.<p>

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><p>The First Day<p>

Lucas woke up slowly, the drugs slowly wearing off and allowing him to feel the pain in his leg again. It felt like someone was trying to dig a hole in his leg using a rusty spoon, Lucas bit back a scream of pain and reached for his bag, which he'd conveniently dropped right next to wear he was laying, and grabbed the bottle of pills. He only took one this time, enough to numb the pain, but not enough to knock him out. It took only a few minutes for the blissful numbness to spread throughout his body, but each second felt like a pain filled year. Lucas made a mental note to thank the Doc for the little godsends.

Staggering down the stairs, Jon was greeted by the pleasant smell of Iguana meat cooking. He made his way into the kitchen to see a happy looking Moira dancing around in her usual coveralls and an apron. Lucas leaned against the door frame and watched her, she was full of energy and seemed completely unaware of her surroundings. Lucas tried to stifle a chuckle, but part of it escaped his lips and Moira must have heard it because she jumped like she had the day before. She slowly turned to the doorway and locked eyes with Lucas "Ho-how long have you been standing there?" Lucas just smiled "Oh, only for a few moments, but I saw what I needed to see." Moira's face turned a deep shade of red "Oh, you saw me, um, dancing around the… the kitchen then." Lucas didn't bother to answer the question, they both knew the answer. She finished up the Iguana bits and sat down with a plate for herself, leaving Lucas to sit there and drool. Noticing his stare, Moira pointed at a shelf with boxes of various food-stuffs "The meals are over there, spices are in the small cabinet to the right." She went back to chowing down while Lucas just sat there. The doctor had said to stay off his leg as much as possible, so he thought that Moira would at least be kind enough to make him some food, but he realized that would be asking too much from this girl. Slowly, he stood up and walked over to the shelf. Picking out a box of Brahmin steaks, he limped over to the oven and began to cook the odd meat. He had cooked for many years, both before and after his exile, though his ingredients had changed considerably when he left the Vault, so he was no stranger to the kitchen.

As he sat down with his plate of food, he caught Moira eyeing his meal, her plate scraped clean. "Oh no you don't." chuckled Lucas, moving his to "guard" his plate "This is MY breakfast. If you want some more food, you have to make it." He took a bite of his food and let out a long "Mmmmmmm", teasing Moira, who's eyes seemed as big as dinner plates. It was her turn to beg, and she mustered up one hell of a puppy dog look to the Wasteland explorer, who, despite his experiences and hardship in life, couldn't say no to the pretty face. Letting out a long winded sigh, he motioned for her to sit next to him and offered her a bite of his food. She gratefully took the bite from him and her eyes lit up as her taste buds were attacked with new flavors. "Where did you learn to cook like this?" she exclaimed after finishing her bite and stealing the one Lucas had been about to eat. "Oh, here and there, you have a lot of time to do nothing when you're travelling alone through the Wastes." Moira stole another bite as Lucas told her this and gave him a mischievous yet innocent look. Un-amused by this theft, breakfast became a contest of who could eat the rest of the food. As the pieces started disappearing, Lucas managed to eat most of his own food. Finally, it came down to the last piece of food, and Lucas and Moira waited like patient hunters to grab it before the other. Moira zipped in under Lucas's radar and got her fork into the last piece of steak, completely catching him off guard. Before he could counter her attack, Moira tossed the juicy piece of meat into her meat and taunted him with the same "Mmmmm" he'd done to her not minutes before as she sucked on the succulent morsel.

Moira opened her mouth, revealing the unchewed piece of meat she'd just put in her mouth. "You want it?" she teased "You'll have to take it out yourself." Lucas sat there for a second, weighing his options. Should he take advantage of this woman who had so kindly opened her home to him, or should he let this be and try to keep as low a profile as possible. _What the hell, you only live once._ Lucas connected his lips with Moira's, who opened her eyes and looked at him with shock. She had obviously not expected him to do this. Lucas used his tongue to maneuver the food out of Moira's mouth and into his own and just as he was about to pull away, Moira's tongue prodded into his own mouth and met up with his own. The theft suddenly turned into something much hotter and they sat there for a few more seconds, their tongues touching and recoiling with this newfound sensation. Lucas pulled away and swallowed his retaken food, but both of them sat there for minutes, a little embarrassed by what had transpired. Finally, Lucas stood up and washed his plate in the sink, putting it back on the shelf where he'd found it. He then proceeded up the stairs and downed two more of the pills, allowing them to drag him back into unconsciousness.

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><p>After that, Moira and Lucas didn't talk for a full four days. Doc church had told him that his leg should be back to relatively normal in a week, so he only had to deal with the uncomfortable silence for a few more days. He had already gained back most of his strength and didn't have to rely on the pain pills to put him to sleep, so he had a lot more time to think. Why had she offered him shelter? Why had she kissed him? Why was it that every night since the kiss, all he could dream of was doing it again? The answer to all of these questions was quite simple, even he could see that. The problem was that it seemed so unreasonable. He'd heard of love at first sight from the books he'd read in the Vault, but he'd dismissed it as something completely stupid and impossible. Another thing that concerned him was Moira's conduct since the kiss. She did her best to avoid eye contact with him, she would usually leave the room whenever he entered, the only exception to this being when she was running the store, and she didn't cuddle up to him in the bed like she had that first night. Lucas felt like he'd hurt Moira's feelings, but he didn't know what he could do to remedy the situation. The new challenge for him, he'd never had to deal with people on a personal level, his goal was more often than not point a weapon and pull the trigger. <em>What have you gotten yourself into this time?<em> Was the thought that seemed to return on a daily basis? The sad thing was, he didn't know the answer.

He woke up on the sixth day and decided to get some work done around town. He had breakfast like he had it the days before, sitting in uncomfortable silence. After he cleaned his plate, he pulled on some light clothes and stepped out into the late morning light. His first stop was Sheriff Simms house to deliver the information he'd gathered over the past month. Most of it was routine stuff, the location of raider camps and good spots to send scavenging parties. There were few tidbits of information that sparkled; assassinations he'd completed, traders he'd helped and recommended to come to Megaton, and other miscellaneous things. Simms was a good man, he kept his town safe from threats on the inside and the outside, and he wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty. "_People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf__."_ It was an old quote from some guy before the bombs fell, but Lucas thought the quote suited Sheriff Simms just fine.

The Sheriff greeted Lucas with a handshake and smile "Good too see you back on your feet Lucas. How are you feeling?" Lucas returned the smile "I'm feeling a lot better actually, the wound doesn't nearly as bad as it did when I got it!" he replied with a chuckle. Simms shook his head in agreement and walked with Lucas over to the dining room wall, where a large map showing the area surrounding Megaton hung on the wall. Red string tied around circles of pins showed areas that weren't safe to travel in, whether due to raiders, slavers, wildlife, or just unsafe conditions, while green circles showed areas that still had a decent amount of supplies in them and could be used by the scavenging parties. Lucas and Simms spent the next two hours talking about the information Lucas had found and making revisions to the map. By the time they were done, Simms' son, Harden, was walking down the stairs, rubbing the last vestiges of sleep from his eyes. When he saw Lucas standing with his father, he rushed down the stairs and nearly pounced on Lucas "LUCAS! YOU'RE OKAY!" Lucas was a little surprised by the hug, but returned the gesture and set the boy back down "Of course I'm okay, something as small as a bullet couldn't take me down!" He patted the child on the head and pointed to the boy's arm 'I see someone's been working out, lemme see those guns of yours!" The boy puffed out his chest and did his best to flex, little muscles popping out of his arms. "Damn kid, you keep that up, you'll be beating off super mutants with you bare hands by the time you get my age!" Youthful optimism seemed to pour from the kid "Yeah, no super mutant'll ever get near this town!" Harden ran off to the kitchen to grab himself some breakfast; and Lucas watched him go. He must have zoned out though, because he heard Simms tapped him on the shoulder with a chuckle "You okay there Lucas?" Lucas snapped back into reality "Yeah, yeah, just thinking that's all." Simms' face adopted a look of fatherly concern "Something on your mind?"

Lucas walked over to the window and looked out at the town below him "Sort of. You know how that woman, Moira Brown, took me in for this last week because I couldn't stand to be in Moriarty's presence for more than a few minutes? Well…" Lucas went on to explain what had happened the day after he'd woken up and how the last few days had been. As he finished his little tale, Lucas noticed a grin sneak onto Simms' face, but before he could say anything, Lucas added "And I know what you're thinking, 'Love at first sight'. But I'm telling you, that can't be right. Something like that doesn't really exist….. right?" Simms just sat down at the table and laughed "Son, I've seen some crazy ass things out here in the wastes, things that would make you question what's real and what isn't. When you think about it, someone falling in love at first sight doesn't sound all that crazy." Lucas stood there for a minute, contemplating what Simms was saying. He seemed to come to a conclusion and thanked Simms for the advice. Lucas walked out of Sheriff Simms house with a purpose, he knew where he stood and felt sure of himself for once since this whole diabolical had begun.

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><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong> Hey guys, I'm submitting this in the early hours of the morning. I meant to get this out on Christmas, but I got shafted with the 1200 to 1800 and the 0000 to 0400 watch, so I was only just able to finish this. Hope you guys enjoy the read and the holidays!


	3. Chapter 3

**Walking Through These Barren Wastes**

**Chapter 3**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fallout or any of the companies that are responsible for it's creation. I'd like to thank the good people at Bethesda Studios for making such an iconic and wonderful game.

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><p>THE FINAL DAY<p>

Lucas slowly awoke, the warmth of the bed threatening to deport him back to unconsciousness. He started to shift his body to the side so that he could get out of bed, but his legs were wrapped in someone else's, so he had to pause and figure out who's legs they were.

He turned over and was greeted by the sleeping face of Moira, she seemed utterly content and continued to snooze away. Her dark red hair draped across the pillow, making it look like she'd bled all through the night. Lucas lay there for a long while, trying to think of a way to get out of the covers without disturbing his bed mate. But fate had other plans, Moira slowly awoke and immediately noticed that Lucas was looking directly at her… She blushed and made to get out of the bed, but Lucas wrapped his hands around her waist, forcing her to confront him. "I… Is something wrong?" She asked, trying not to look directly at him.

Lucas' face took on a sad expression, eyes full of concern and confusion. "Why have we been avoiding each other the past seven days?" She didn't answer, just kept staring at the ceiling as a deep blush spread across her face. "Is it my fault? Was I wrong to kiss you on that first day? If I was, I'm sorry, I really am. I never intended to make you feel uncomfortable. I don't want my stay in your home to end on a bad note, so please accept my apologies for what I did." Moira didn't move for the longest time, but when she did, she tucked her chin into her chest and whispered something. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you, could you say that again?" Lucas asked, his confusion greater than before.

"I said you don't have to be sorry!" She blurted out, lifting her head and making eye contact with him for the first time. It didn't last long, she immediately tucked her head back into her chest as her face turned quite a few shades of red. Now Lucas was even more confused.

"Okay, if I don't have to be sorry, then answer my first question… please!" Lucas pleaded with her, trying desperately to make heads or tails of what she was trying to say to him.

Again, it took Moira a few moments to muster the courage to say anything. "I'm scared. When I'm close to you, I get this funny feeling in my tummy. It's warm and fuzzy, and it makes me feel so alive that I think I could burst. B… but I'm scared. I know that the things you do out in the wastes are dangerous, and that every time you walk through those gates, you might not come back. Or worse, you might come back in a body bag." She turned over and buried her face in Lucas' chest, tears streaming down her face. "I know that what you do keeps this town safe, so I can't ask you to stay. But that doesn't mean I have t like it or not worry about you…"

To say Lucas was caught off guard was an understatement; this was the complete opposite of what he'd been expecting. He stammered out a reply "B-but why? You barely know me, how can you have these feelings for me?"

Moira just shook her head "I don't know, there's…. there's just something about you that makes me feel safe. When I looked into your eyes, the day we met, something there made me feel weak in the knees. Just the thought of you looking at me made my entire body tingle. Call it crazy, call it a woman's intuition, call it whatever you want, I don't care. All I know is that I want you… to be with me."

Her lips drifted closer to Lucas, and this time, there was no hesitation. The kiss tasted salty, her tears mixing between their lips. Lucas' tongue made the first move, requesting entrance to her mouth, which she gladly allowed and greeted with her own. Her hands wrapped around his neck, pulling him in closer. She never wanted him to leave, never wanted to have to sleep alone again. He made her feel like she was safe and that nothing could harm her.

His hands began to wander, lower and lower until they reached her rear. He slowly slid his hands inside her panties, squeezing her ass and pulling her lower half closer to him. Their bodies grinded against each other, Moira letting out soft moans when Lucas squeezed on her, and he was about to slide her panties off, but she stopped him, her hands pulling his out of her pants and pulling her panties back up. "I…I don't think I'm ready for s… se… THAT just yet…" Lucas just smiled and nodded his head, he didn't want to spoil the fun they were having. She took his hands in hers and guided them up through her shirt. She didn't wear a bra, so he had unrestricted access to her breasts. His rough hands squeezed and teased her supple tits, pressing them together and toying with the nipples.

They kissed again in earnest, Moira's breath coming out in short gasps every time Lucas tweaked a nipple. His kisses began to wander, going from her lips to her chin, her cheek, and finally her neck, where he began to nibble on Moira's soft skin. She moaned now, her mind being assaulted by two kinds of pleasure. The kept at this for a long time, before Moira's alarm decided to go off, signaling for her to get out of bed and get ready for the new day.

Lucas left Craterside Supply, heading to Sheriff Simms house. Harden greeted him at the door and informed the young man that his father was conducting his patrol of the town. Lucas thanked the boy and went to find the sheriff. His searched yielded results about ten minutes later, when he saw Simms walking past the town armory. "Sheriff!" Lucas called out, catching the man's attention.

"Ah, good to see you back in fighting shape Lucas." The sheriff called back, "What can I do for you?"

"I plan on heading back out this evening. I thought it'd be smart to go over any last bits of information and set up a schedule and mission plan." Lucas replied, pulling up beside the sheriff and matching his pace.

"Already? What about…. you know, her?" Simms asked tentatively, not sure how to breach the subject.

"We… talked, this morning and things went more than smoothly." Lucas admitted with a sheepish grin, his mind wandering back to their morning make out. The sheriff just laughed at Lucas' expression and patted him on the shoulder. "Good to see that it all work out for you son."

The sheriff's expression changed, as if he'd just remembered something important. "I do have something I want to talk to you about." He exclaimed "We've been getting reports from the traders that there are some strange noises coming from that elementary school over in Springvale. Could you swing by there on your way out and see what the hell is going on? I know that's where Boppo and his gang made camp awhile back, so I'm worried that some new gang, or worse Boppo's old cronies, is setting up shop there."

Lucas just nodded "Yeah, I can do that. Can't have some band of raiders right outside our front door. Anything else you can think of? I know you're memories not what it used to be." Lucas joked, prodding at the sheriff's age.

The man just laughed with him, replying "Don't make too much fun of my age there son, I might just "forget" to pay you for your services!" They both laughed at this, slapping each other on the back.

Lucas stopped walking and turned around "Well," he said, "I'm going to check with some of the other residents, see if any of them have any jobs for me." Before heading off towards the Megaton Clinic.

When he arrived, Doc was cursing in the back, while a patient of his was cursing up front. The patient sat on what served as the operating table, cradling his arm in obvious pain. There was a lot of blood on the floor, dripping between the man's fingers as he tried to keep pressure on a nasty looking gash. Lucas passed the man and continued into the back, where Doc was searching through his supplies, looking for something in particular. An "AH HA!" rang from his lips, and he retrieved a dwindling roll of bandages. When he turned around, he noticed Lucas standing there, and another "AH HA!" escaped him. "Just the man I wanted to see! I have a task for you, but first, my patient." He strode past Lucas and over to the still bleeding man. A few minutes later, Doc stepped back and inspected his handiwork. The man still cursed every time he tried to move his arm, but he looked otherwise okay. "Here," the Doc said, handing the man a bottle of pills "These should numb the pain for a few hours. Instructions are on the back. Come back tomorrow so I can change out the bandages." The patient just nodded, glanced at the back of the bottle, and downed one of the little pills. Slowly, he got down from the table and walked out the door, his wounded arm still cradled in his arms.

"Stupid kids," the doctor sighed, turning to Lucas "fell from one of the upper floors and cut his arm on some sheet metal. When I asked him what he was doing so close to the edge, he'd said that he'd been trying impress some gal from the bar." He shook his head "Anyways, in case you didn't notice, I'm low on a few supplies. If you find anything out there in the Wastes, would you mind bringing back some for me? I'll make sure you're well compensated for your work."

Lucas just laughed "No, I'm not going waste my time bringing life saving supplies back to the man that saved my own life." He remarked sarcastically, tapping a few notes into his Pip-Boy. "Anything in particular that you need?"

The Doc raised his fist mockingly "Boy, I brought you back from the dead, I'm pretty damn sure I can put you back down. As for what I need, bandages are on the top of the list, but anything you find would be helpful." He jotted down a few other things that he needed on a piece of paper and handed it to Lucas "This is what I need the most, but like I said, anything will be helpful. Just don't get so banged up out there that I have to use the stuff on you as soon as you get back." They both shared a laugh at this, and Lucas typed the items into his List of To-Dos.

"Alrighty Doc, I'll see what I find and bring it back to you." He walked to the door of the clinic. "See you in a couple weeks Doc." "You too boy."

* * *

><p>Lucas stepped through the gates of Megaton and into a new world, a world where the only law came from a loaded weapon and the only one you could trust was yourself. The air was starting to cool as the sun set in the West, barely forming a half-circle on the horizon. Lucas headed towards Springvale, it was the closest town to Megaton and made for a great way to get away from the area. His first stop was the elementary school, which was close to the center of the small town. As he passed house after broken house, Lucas wondered what it must have been like to live in the days before the bombs fell. Was it like living in Megaton? Or was it more like a Vault? At this, Lucas wondered what had become of Vault 62. Though he didn't like the Council, he had made a few friends, and sometimes he missed them.<p>

The sun was soon completely set, and the world was plunged into darkness. Lucas crept through the ruins, closing the distance between him and Springvale Elementary. He hadn't heard or seen anything yet, but still kept a watchful eye, hardly anything was as it seemed in the Wastes.

As he drew up to the wall of the school, he heard voices coming from the enormous crater in the one of the walls. As he drew closer, the voices became clearer and the conversation began to take form.

"Pretty good haul today."

"Yeah, and the traders are supposed to come by tomorrow."

"Really? Well, us and the boys should give them a visit. The boss needs a new toy anyways."

"Yeah, and we all know you can't get enough of the Brahmin Orgunt."

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean Viana?"

"Pffft, you know exactly what it means, now get back to your post, boss didn't give you watch duty so you could fuck off."

The raider didn't have time to reply, Lucas lashed out from the shadows and open a gaping wound in the "Orgrunt's" throat. His eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as Lucas whipped past his already falling body and eviscerated "Viana", who let out a meek scream before falling to her knees, clutching at the organs sliding out from her stomach. She looked up to see her killer's face, and was greeted by a pair of cold, unblinking yellow eyes. She made to scream again, to hopefully warn her comrades of the danger among them, but Lucas plunged the bayonet, attached to his hunting rifle, down into her eye socket, cutting off her scream before it could properly form.

Lucas quietly opened the door to the inside of the school, making a s little noise as possible. His recon armor allowed him to move almost silently, and the cloak he wore over it allowed him to blend almost seamlessly with the shadows. He could here the voices of more raiders up ahead, three or four by the sound of it, but who knew how many were there, sleeping or doing whatever it was that raiders did when they weren't well… raiding. Lucas peered around the corner, keeping his head low to the ground to make him harder to spot. Sure enough, there was more than the three he'd first heard. Total, there were six, three huddled around a heat lamp giving off a faint light in the middle of the room. One was sitting in front of a terminal, muttering to him self and typing something in every few minutes. The last two were lying in beds on the far side of the room, sleeping or…. Lucas diverted his attention from the raider whose arm was hard at work between his legs….

Lucas eased himself back around the corner and checked his weapons, his hunting rifle lay on top of his cloak, useless in these tight quarters and against so many enemies, the same went for the .44 Magnum strapped to hiss chest, one missed shot and he'd be screwed; but his 10mm SMG was perfect for the job sitting against his hip in its comfy holster. Lucas pulled it out and checked the magazine, full, just like he'd left it. He knew that as soon as he opened fire, the entire band of raiders would know, so he had to work fast. He took the bayonet from the rifle in one hand, the SMG in his other hand, and rounded the corner.

The first raider, the one facing away from the doorway, didn't know what hit him, the burst of 10mm rounds buried itself perfectly at the base of his neck. The second raider standing around the heat lamp had about as much time to react as his friend, the second burst punching into his chest. The third raider raised her weapon, diving to the side and dodging Lucas's third burst. By this time, the raider who'd been sitting at the computer was starting to stand, reaching for his weapon in hopes of being the first to take on the new enemy. Lucas threw gave the bayonet an over-handed throw, missing his mark, which had been the raider's chest, but didn't complain when it dug into the man's throat.

The fifth and sixth raiders, the one's that had been in bed, were reaching for any weapon they could get their hands on, coming up with a steel pipe and an old fire-axe. They charged at Lucas, their weapons held high, ready to deliver the killing blow. Not wasting any time, Lucas released a long burst in a sweeping arc, peppering both raiders with bullets at chest level. The one with the axe dropped, clutching at the new holes in his chest, but the one with the pipe kept coming, her makeshift armor stopping rounds cold. She got within striking distance and brought her pipe down, aiming for Lucas' head. Lucas raised his arm, letting his armor take the brunt of the attack; it still hurt like all hell, but better a bruised arm than a smashed skull. Balling his hand into a tight fist, Lucas delivered a vicious uppercut to the woman's exposed chin, knocking a few teeth free. He quickly followed by emptying the rest of the SMG's clip into her stomach.

As the pipe wielding raider fell back, her sister raider decided to attack, coming out from behind the table she'd overturned in the confusion and firing a few rounds from her Chinese pistol. She wasn't really aiming, so all of her rounds missed, but that didn't stop Lucas from loudly cursing and diving back around the corner. The raider cackled "Aww, is the little vigilante scared of a few bullets? You didn't seem so scared when you first came in and shot up my friends!"

Lucas didn't have time to reload; he could hear the raider running to catch him with no ammo, he had enough time to draw his revolver from his chest holster and aim for the door. To her credit, the raider woman didn't seem too surprised when she rounded the corner to see a Lucas pointing a new weapon at her, but tried to raise her pistol anyway. Lucas put a new hole in the middle of her chest for the effort, knocking the woman down and out.

Sliding the revolver back into its holster, Lucas reloaded his SMG and retrieved his bayonet before continuing any further. As he opened the door to the small cafeteria, a duo of raiders with SMGs made themselves known, peppering the door with rounds. Lucas ducked back into the hallway, but not before a round found its home in his chest armor. Oddly enough, the raider's kept firing, emptying their magazines into the study doors, giving Lucas the perfect opportunity to deliver a burst into their faces when he barged back in. A lone raider with a 10mm pistol halted his progress into the next hallway, crouched behind a pair of sandbags, but he too fell prey to Lucas' weapon.

Finally, Lucas reached the doors to the auditorium, but when he tried to open the door, the heavy bark of an assault rifle quickly changed his mind. _Well,_ Lucas thought sarcastically _found the leader!_

"Why don't you come out and die like a man!" A voice yelled from inside the auditorium, followed by a throaty laugh "You woke me from my beauty sleep with all that racket you started, and now you're gonna pay!" A few more rounds from the assault rifle punched dents into the door, hammering the leader's point in. Lucas weighed his options for a moment, trying to think of a way to get into the room without dying, but decided against the idea of getting into the room when he saw a few green balls lying in a box next to the door, like little godsends of death. Lucas picked up one of the military grade pineapple grenades, making a few quick calculations in his head before clutching the handle to the door.

As the door opened, the leader of the raiders whooped, calling out "Finally decided to face-" his words died on his lips at a grenade was unceremoniously tossed from behind the door and into the center of the auditorium. A second later, the orb of doom exploded, sending shrapnel and bits of wood in all directions, shredding the raider into bloody pieces.

Lucas looted the bodies, finding a decent amount of ammo and parts for his weapons. Sadly, the assault rifle was unsalvageable, the shrapnel from the grenade denting and gouging the weapon in multiple spots. There wasn't too much food either, but this wasn't a problem, since Lucas already had enough food of his own. Still, their stores provided enough for a decent meal for the night, saving Lucas the trouble of wasting his own food.

Barely an hour after he'd entered, Lucas was leaving the school, travelling deeper into the wastes until he reached one of the many camp sites that dotted the Wastes surrounding D.C. Lucas made his way into one of the abandoned camping trailers, laying out his bed roll and stowing his gear in next to him. As he crawled into the roll and allowed sleep to take him away, his thoughts drifted to a red-haired beauty who seemed far, far away at this moment.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note(s):<strong>

**Hello faithful readers; that concludes Chapter 3! I'm sorry for the extended delay, but the Navy has me up to my ears in work, so writing took a backseat to a host of other things. I hope you've enjoyed this fic so far (Of course you have, you're still reading it aren't you?) and I can't wait to see what Lucas is going to do next! (Because let's face it, sticking to the plot I'd written RARELY happens.) Will Lucas make new friends? Will he and Moira ever do the nasty? Will I ever quit bitching about my job? You'll have to wait and see!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Walking Through These Barren Wastes**

**Chapter 4**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fallout or any of the companies that are responsible for it's creation. I'd like to thank the good people at Bethesda Studios for making such an iconic and wonderful game.

* * *

><p>Lucas had seen downtown D.C. before the bombs had fallen… in pictures back in the Vault, but he'd still seen it. It was a beautiful city, with sleek skyscrapers and majestic capital buildings. Now, the only signs that the city even existed were the ruins of these once great buildings. That was one of the things that made getting into downtown such a pain in his ass, these same ruins blocked most of the entrances to the city. And almost all of the paths that weren't blocked by ruins were controlled by raiders, or worse, super mutants.<p>

Lucas muttered a new string of curses as the murky waste water splashed into his boot, soaking his foot and sock in it's unholy stench. The sewer pipe he was in was one of the safest ways to get into the city. Safest, Lucas reminded himself, not safe, as a lone figure stepped from the shadows and rushed at the young man. Lucas raised his rifle, plunging the bayonet into the assailant's forehead, cutting its attack short.

Lucas slowly pulled the creature off of the blade and set it against the rounded wall of the sewer pipe. As he passed the flashlight of his Pip-Boy over the thing, Lucas had to hold back his stomach, it was a feral ghoul, and a pretty well rotted one at that. Most ghouls only had a few layers of skin missing, so their muscles were plainly visible, but this one had entire chunks missing, not to mention it's body had been racked with some sort of disease, so it smelled even worse than the water.

After giving the torn remnants of the ghoul's clothing a quick pat down, Lucas continued into the pipe, eventually coming out into a water purification plant that had long since ceased functioning. He found a ladder on the wall that led to a walkway above, which led to a hallway who's lights were either broken or about to die out, which led to a small office littered with papers and terminals that no longer had any use. Finally, the office connected him to the subway station, where a disturbing sight awaited him. As he walked out into the actual terminal, on the second story, he heard the strange gasp of another feral ghoul, followed by the gasps of about ten others. Slowly, Lucas crept over to the edge of the balcony and peered over. Sure enough, there had to be at least ten to fifteen of the damn things down below. Lucas quietly made his way back into the office and opened his Pip-Boy, scanning for a map of the station. He'd taken this route countless times before, but there'd never been this many ghouls inhabiting the station. And of course, the only way to get to the other side of the station was through that terminal, Lucas cursed again.

His movements were slow and calculated, any misstep and he'd be in the middle of one hell of a fight. He'd made it about halfway across the terminal before one of the ghouls had decided to take an upstairs tour. Lucas had quickly crawled under one of the benches bolted to the floor before it'd seen him, but it had still been a close call. Now, he waited, the ghoul would get bored, or tired, or whatever it was that ghouls got, and return to it's "pack". Lucas could only hope that it didn't see him before that.

Ten minutes later, the ghoul did return to it's pack, and Lucas slowly crawled out from under the bench and made his way to the other side of the terminal without incident.

Lucas walked out of the subway tunnel and into the mid-day light of downtown D.C. The checking his Pip-Boy as he walked, Lucas slowly made a plan for which direction he would go today. He'd scoured all of the closet sectors for supplies, so it was time to venture a little bit further into the ruins and look for a new spot to scavenge. The first place to catch his eye was the museum district. He'd heard a few things here and there about a large cluster of super mutants in that area, and supposedly there was a Brotherhood of Steel outpost there as well. It sounded dangerous, but most of all, it sounded profitable. Lucas began to make his way towards the Lincoln Memorial and the Museum of History.

* * *

><p>"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!" yelled Lucas as he crouched behind a large stone wall. Just his luck, he'd run into a super mutant patrol not minutes after getting to the museum district. Those other scavengers hadn't been lying when they'd said that there was a real cluster fuck of the damn things in this area. Before he'd been pinned down, Lucas had seen an entire network of trenches running the length of the area between the Lincoln Memorial and the Memorial Tower that served as the Brotherhood outpost. Of course, now he had other problems to worry about, like the three super mutants bearing down on his position.<p>

The biggest one among them, probably a brute, had the biggest weapon, a minigun of all things. The other two, just regular ol' super mutants by the look of them, had a hunting rifle and a sledgehammer. While the brute laid down a heavy amount of suppressive fire, the other two tried to circle around and flank Lucas. As the one with the sledge hammer ran up to the wall Lucas was crouched behind, Lucas dove away and tried to get some distance between him and the mutated monster. His rifle, already in his hands at this point, fired a round into the center mass of the mutant, sadly, this only served to piss it off even more. The mutant with the rifle rewarded Lucas for his effort by putting a round though his cloak, missing his leg by an inch. _Gotta think fast_ thought Lucas, his mind frantic for a way to escape these things, or even better, bring them down. _I need to take care of he brute first, that minigun is going to be nothing but trouble as long as he's got a hold of it._

Lucas jumped down into the trenches, hoping to lose the two weaker mutants in the maze. One advantage he had over them was speed. He wasn't carrying that much loot, so his speed was hindered in the slightest. His heart pounded in his chest as he rounded corner after corner, the sound of mutants fading, but still close. He caught sight of a rickety looking door and didn't think twice, he slammed his shoulder into the door and burst through. Going with the motion of his body, he rolled and came up in a crouched stance. Quickly taking in his surroundings, it looked like he'd crashed into some sort of bunker. There was a decrepit radio sitting on an old desk next to two bunk beds, whose mattresses had seen better days. A lone light bulb hung above the desk, bathing the corners of the room in shadows and giving Lucas plenty of places to hide.

He could hear mutants closing, their hoots and cries of joy made it sound like they knew they had their prey in a corner. Lucas quickly ran behind one of the bunk beds and uded the mattress to steady his rifle. It was only then that he realized that the bunker was bigger than he'd first thought, and that it curved in a large L shape. At the end of this new passageway was another door. Beyond which lay things Lucas could only guess at. He filed the door away as a possible escape route and brought the rifle to bear on the doorway, aiming for where the head should be on one of those monsters.

The mutant with the sledgehammer came through the door first, which was good, Lucas wanted to deal with him first. The rifle barely bucked in his hands as he put a round right between the ugly mutant's eyes, months of use training his body how best to disperse the recoil.

The mutant with the hunting rifle was just as dumb as his predecessor, and charged into the bunker, firing the hunting rifle from the hip. The bullet went wide, putting a hole in the desk. Lucas was not so inaccurate.

As the super mutant hit the ground, Lucas barely caught the sound of a minigun spinning up. His body working on instinct, Lucas dived to the side as a hail of bullets came through the door and tore the mattress he'd had been behind a second before into shreds. Lucas heard a roar of rage as the Brute entered the bunker and tried to get a bead on the "puny human". Lucas gave it no such chance and darted for the other door, the soundof the minigun spinning up hot on his trail.

The second door had a push bar on it, so Lucas simply ran right through and jumped to the side, right as another hail of bullets tore the flimsy door apart. Lucas leaned around the doorframe as the brute finished it's barrage and fired a round at it's head with his hunting rifle. The round soared through the air and collided with the metal armor the brute was wearing, leaving a small dent but causing no other damage. Cursing, Lucas ducked back behind the door and pulled out his revolver.

A plan was racing into his mind, if it failed, Lucas was as good as dead. Slowing his breathing, Lucas waited. As the brute entered the doorway, Lucas charged between the doorframe and the brute, which was no small task considering how big the damn thing was. AS he passed, Lucas pressed the barrel of his revolver into the unprotected crease of the brutes knee, firing off a round into the soft flesh. The brute howled in rage and agony and tried to swing it's weapon around, but it's wounded leg gave out under the strain and the brute was brought down to one knee, it's minigun digging into the ground. Lucas wasted no time in pressing his own weapon into the brute's nose and firing again, plastering the mutant's brains on the inside of it's helmet, ending the fight with the patrol.

Lucas let out a heavy sigh and sat down on one of the bunk beds, this was turning into a more dangerous mission than he had anticipated. He tapped button on his Pip-Boy and brought up the map of the area around him. According to the map, he was actually in the middle of the Lincoln Memorial and the Memorial Tower. What was better, he wasn't that far from the Museum of History and the abundance of loot that no doubt dwelled there…

* * *

><p>"HEY! Tourist!"<p>

Lucas stopped, his brain trying to process what he'd just heard. Tourist? Who the hell calls someone a tourist? Turning to face the voice, Lucas saw a bright red-haired ghoul with a laser rifle. "Um, me?" Lucas asked, pointing at himself in confusion.

"Yeah you. You're a tourist right?" replied the ghoul, her arms crossed across her chest as she studied the 'tourist'. Lucas was still sort of confused and it must have shown, because the ghoul continued, "You're completely new to an area, you're seeing the sights, meeting people, trying to stay alive in an unfamiliar place, face it, you're a tourist."

Lucas thought about this for a moment before bursting out laughing. When he'd regained some of his composure, he said "You're right, I've never really thought about it like that, but when you put it that way, yeah, I AM a tourist." He started laughing again, he hadn't had any time to relax since he'd left Megaton, this was a nice change of pace. The ghoul looked like she was pleased that someone else saw things from her point of view. "What uh, what's your name miss?" Lucas asked when he was done laughing.

"The name's Willow, I guard the doors to the Underworld." She replied, "What about you smooth skin, what's your name?"

"The names Lucas, I explore and do odd jobs for a little town called Megaton to the west. You said you guard the door to the Underworld, what exactly IS the Underworld?"

"Well Lucas, the Underworld is a town of nothing but Ghouls like myself, well, not counting Cerberus, but he's a robot, so he doesn't really count. We have shops and a doctor and other things you'd expect to find in a town. We don't mind if smooth skins like you come in, as long as you aren't a bigot."

"Huh, sounds like a fun place. I think I'll check it out." With that, Lucas started for the door to the Museum…

* * *

><p>Lucas pushed open one of the enormous doors to the ghoul city of the Underworld. There were ghouls of all shapes and colors, well, hair colors at least. Their skin color was pretty much the same. Floating around an upper balcony was a Mr. Handy type robot, a military model judging by the plasma rifle and flame-thrower attachments. As he walked into the center of town, a voice to his left called out "Hey! Smoothskin! C'mere!"<p>

Lucas turned to see a brown-haired ghoul accosting him into her…. Shop? There were items on the wall and lining the shelves, so he couldn't see it being anything else. He walked over to the counter where the ghoul was standing, "Can I help you miss…?"

"Tulip, the name's Tulip, smoothskin. What's one of your kind doing down here?" she asked, her head cocked to the side in an odd show of interest/confusion.

"I actually found this place by accident. I snuck into the D.C. area to do some scavenging, and the door guard, uh, Willow, told me about this place. I gotta say, I've never seen so many ghouls in one place." Lucas leaned on the counter and looked around, taking in the store and seeing if any of the items interested. "Do you get a lot of business down here?"

"Well, sort of. The traders that do make it this far into D.C. bring some pretty good stuff. And Quinn is kind enough to bring me things to trade with the other traders so we can survive around here" Lucas' confused face made her continue "Quinn isn't here right now, he left about two days ago."

"Oh, okay. Well, I happen to be low on ammo. Do you happen to have any .32 Caliber and .44 Magnum rounds?"

* * *

><p>His ammo replenished, Lucas decided to grab a drink and see if the town doctor had any medical supplies worth buying. As the door to the town's bar, the sign above it proudly proclaiming it as the Ninth Circle, opened, the odor of alcohol struck him like a freight train. Making his way through the cigarette smoke, he finally found his way to the bar and got the bartender's attention.<p>

The ghoul's tone was laced with a fake sweetness, and his eyes went over Lucas more than once, appraising his worth. "Well hello smoothskin, to what do I own this honor? Can I get you a beer, a whiskey, or maybe, something stronger?"

It was obvious that 'something stronger' wasn't alcohol, but Lucas shook his head. "I just need some water, clean if you have it." The bartender shrugged his shoulders, as if he was unimpressed by his choice in drink. He pulled a frosty bottle of water from the fridge and tossed it to Lucas.

"50 caps, it's pure." Lucas didn't bother trying to barter; this guy seemed like a smooth enough talker that he'd end up paying twice as much for this bottle. He pulled the caps from his bag and set them on the table. The bartender's eyes seemed to light up at the sight of the bag of caps, and he slid back over to where Lucas was sitting.

"Hey smoothskin, I couldn't help but notice that you seem to be pretty beat up. Maybe we can help each other. You see that fellow in the corner?" He pointed a brute of a ghoul standing in the back corner of the room. His eyes scanned back and forth, looking for any patrons that were getting rowdy or had passed out at their tables. "Well, I just happen to own his contract. He is utterly loyal to whoever owns said contract. He's pretty good in a fight, and that contract can be yours for a paltry 1000 caps…."

Lucas listened to the way the price just slid off hips cracked lips, like it was going to seem like a less ridiculous price if he used his 'sweet' voice. What really pissed him off was the fact that this scumbag was trying to SELL another person's life. Lucas knew what it was like to be a slave, and he couldn't imagine that this seedy bartender was kind to his 'employee'. But, though he loathed owning another human being, he would probably need some extra help getting out of the ruins and back to Megaton.

"1000 caps? What are you high on Jet? He doesn't look worth 500."

The bartender grinned, flashing off his yellowed and dirty teeth. "You underestimate his ability, and I wouldn't dare insult him by selling his contract for so little. 900caps."

"600"

"800"

"650"

"750 caps, and not a single cap less." He crossed him arms across his chest and looked away, acting offended that he'd allowed his price to drop that low.

Lucas stared at him for a full minute, judging whether or not he could try to skim another 50 caps off at least. With an exasperated sigh, he pulled out his pouch of caps and counted off the agreed amount. The bartender beamed with victory as he counted the caps and slipped them into a pouch attached to his belt loop. After he counted the last ones, he reached into his tacky suit coat and pulled out a ragged piece of paper, which he handed to Lucas.

"I'll leave it you to break the news to him, his name is Charon."

Lucas walked over to the hulking ghoul, who noticed his approach from across the room. The ghoul didn't speak to him, in fact, he seemed to be ignoring Lucas altogether. "Hey, Charon, the bartender says that you're loyal to whoever owns your little contract right. That true?"

Charon didn't respond verbally, only nodded his head a few times before scanning the other patrons again.

"Well congratulations, I just bought your contract from the bartender, you'll be working with me from now on."

Lucas' words gave Charon pause, "You….. you bought my contract?"

"Yep, so pack your things, we're leaving as soon as I'm done buying supplies."

Charon looked at the bar, then at Lucas, then back to the bar. "Before we go, I need to take care of one little matter."

"Sure, I'm in no rush. What is it?"

"You'll see." Charon stepped away from his corner and walked over to the bar, where the bartender was rifling through the pouch of caps he'd just received. He looked up as Charon got close, "Well, I guess this is goodbye Charon, you always were a good bodyguard."

Charon grinned, "Yes, this is goodbye, but not the goodbye you think it is." His combat shotgun was in his hands in just over a second, and he fired a round into the bartender's chest, sending him sprawling back into the walled of drinks and assorted spirits. The bartender had a slight look of surprise, like he'd known that this was going to happen, but was still a little shocked.

The other patrons of the bar were scrambling for the door, afraid that the quiet giant would turn his gun on them. Lucas used the crowd's movement get close to Charon. "Well, can't say I'm surprised, he didn't seem like the best of people." He reached down and grabbed the pouch containing the caps he'd paid for Chraon's contract with, ripping it off the belt loop.

"I'm ready to depart." Lucas turned to see Charon staring down at him, his eyes glancing to the pouch Lucas had just acquired.

"I can see that, and I think I'm ready to leave as well, I can always get supplies from a travelling trader…"


End file.
